Regarding Peacock tarantula (Gooty tarantula), consider the following statements:

Answer: (d) II and III

Limited forest range ✓ and arboreal ✓. Statement I is wrong.

Statement by statement

1. ✗ WRONG — it is a spider (arachnid), and it hunts Tarantulas are arachnids: 8 legs, 2 body parts. Crustaceans are crabs, prawns and copepods. It eats insects, so it is a carnivore, not an omnivore.

2. ✓ CORRECT — a tiny range It is known from a small patch of deciduous forest in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh. It was first described in 1899 from a specimen found at Gooty, which is where the name comes from. IUCN status: Critically Endangered.

3. ✓ CORRECT — it lives in trees It lives in holes and cracks high up in tall trees, not in burrows in the ground like many tarantulas.

The idea

Arthropods, the animals with jointed legs, come in separate classes. An insect has six legs. A spider or scorpion (an arachnid) has eight legs and no antennae. Decapod crustaceans (crabs, prawns) have ten legs; crustaceans mostly live in water. A tarantula is a large hairy spider.

Insects: 6 legs → Arachnids: 8 legs → spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites → Crustaceans: crabs, prawns, lobsters → Many legs: centipedes and millipedes

Why the others are wrong

(a) Statement I is the only wrong one: it is an arachnid and a carnivore.

(b) Includes I, which is wrong on both group and diet.

(c) Misses III. It really is a tree-dweller.

The trap

Statement I hides two errors in one line: the wrong group (crustacean) and the wrong diet (omnivorous). One wrong word is enough to reject a statement.

Also know

This tarantula is a striking metallic blue, which has made it a target of the illegal pet trade. Its small forest home is also being cut for firewood and timber.